Bringing Good Out of Evil

The word of God teaches us that humans are spiritually deficient and that our goodness is flawed goodness. Because God's word is light and spirit, we receive both as we receive His words. We not only learn that we 'cannot merit anything of ourselves' and that we must 'rely wholly upon the merits' of Christ, but we also experience our own lost, fallen and corrupt state. His words teach us that redemption is not a matter of legislation, moral exhortation, proper examples, rules, regulations and good education. We also learn why this is true--these methods require imperfect people to be in charge of making themselves and others perfect. Certainly there can be human goodness in such efforts, but they cannot bring about our redemption.

We must not only accept, but also experience that mankind (and each one of us) is spiritually flawed and our plight is beyond human remedy. And we experience this through His words (which are Him) which He has imparted unto us. We also, through His word, experience His goodness and greatness and come to know that our salvation does not come through our good works, but through His righteousness, and we attain this righteousness through faith in Him. Rules and regulations cannot empower us. The potential for sin can be clarified by the law, but not eliminated by it. That is why the law can only be a schoolmaster to teach us of our plight and to encourage us to look for the remedy. 

The remedy is not the law. 

Redemption comes in and through the Holy Messiah.

This we hear directly from His voice through His words: "There is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God save it be through the merits, and mercy and grace of the Holy Messiah, for ye cannot come to him save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in Him, relying wholly upon the merits of Him who is mighty to save."

Why is it then that we insist on thinking that our performance will somehow earn a greater reward? And that we will be able to flash our outstanding report cards at the judgment and all will be well? There is only one answer to this question and that is we have not received, or 'laid hold' upon the word of God which He has so lovingly revealed to us! Instead we have bought into the gospel of performance rather than the gospel of repentance. Because we have substituted the word of God with the teachings of men--a perverted gospel--we are conditioned that we must do it with our strivings, our efforts, our doing, our goodness, our successes, our virtues, and our activity. But how do we eliminate this from our thinking? We must hear His voice in His words! We must look higher than the pulpit. There is no other way.

Important in the records of the dispensations is that when men depart from God's way and substitute their own ways in its place, they usually do not admit that is what they are doing. Often they do not deliberately or even consciously substitute their ways for God's ways. On the contrary, they easily and largely convince themselves that their way is God's way. The apostasy described by the Ephraimite Gentiles before the endtime is not a desertion of the cause, but a perversion of it, a process by which the righteous are removed and none perceives it.

But this is what happens when we neglect the word of God. Our minds, like a land neglected by the cultivator (us) necessarily produces thorns and thistles, so our sense, by long neglect, produces a plentiful crop of noxious opinions, dogmas, tenets and perverted teachings. There is need now for much care in cultivating the field of our minds, that the word of truth, which is the true and diligent husbandman of the heart (His word is what nourishes us), may cultivate our minds and hearts with continual light and truth.

We do not like to think of ourselves or our minds as being corrupt, and yet that is the word the Lord uses to describe us, for when we take strength unto ourselves and boast in our own strength, then we are left to our own strength, and we will not prosper. Our 'own strength' is a state of corruption and we cannot overcome this corruption by our goodness, our virtues and our activity. When the Lord asked His servant "Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?" the servant answers that the vineyard becomes corrupted by corrupted people who take strength unto themselves, or rely on their own strength: "...is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?" And a corrupt people brings forth wild fruit.

As a result of the fall we are all corrupted and do not merit anything of ourselves. So the problem does not lie solely in the fact that people take strength unto themselves, but that corrupt people take strength unto themselves, and we all are, everyone of us, corrupted as a result of the fall. Again a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit.

The Lord also said that men who set themselves up as a light unto the world have corrupt minds, because their minds are filled with corrupt teachings, ideas and opinions. We have all gone out of the way (are not in the way) and have become corrupted.  Because of pride and because of false teachers and false doctrines, even our churches have become corrupted. Why? Again it is corrupt people (the fall) with corrupt minds (the false teachings and false doctrines). Add to this the desire for the things of the world (all corruptible), and we are in a very sorry state indeed.

Of course Christ is the remedy, but how do we come to Christ? How exactly do we partake of His goodness, His incorruptible state of righteousness, and His promise to make us incorruptible like He is? 

The answer is through His words and the truthfulness of His words being revealed by Him to us. When we are born we are neither good nor evil, we are innocent, but are "conceived in sin, even so when (we) begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in (our) hearts, and (we) taste the bitter, that (we) may know to prize the good." (Moses 6:55) And "it is given unto (us) to know good from evil, wherefore (we) are agents unto (ourselves)..." (Moses 6:56) 

So with these competing influences--good and evil--how do we learn to prize the good? Before leaving the Garden, Eve told Adam that it was better for them to pass through sorrow so that they could learn to prize the good. In D&C 84, the Lord makes it clear that we come unto Him through His words, and that "whoso receiveth not my voice (His words) is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me." 

So we experience the darkness within ourselves and in the world. But we should not deny the darkness within or avoid the darkness of the world. We should acknowledge it, accept it, but transcend it by seeking God's light shining in the darkness! And that light is His word!

This plan for us which offers both good and evil requires that we learn to recognize the difference and understand exactly what is good and what is evil. Again we turn to His words which tell us that good is the righteousness of God, and evil is everything else. One way is narrow and the other broad. The Lord tells us that we get in the right way because of His words and we stay in the right way because of His words. We see this by virtue of the word of God being identified as the Rod of Iron, with the word being compared to the Liahona and with the word of God being truth, light, spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Why? Because the word of God leads us to the fountain of living waters, the love of God and to the righteousness of God. While ignoring and not receiving His words keeps us in darkness and leads us to wander in strange paths and eventually being captured by the chains of hell. And when we shine the light of His words upon ourselves, we see the corruption, the flawed goodness, the evil. And yet at the same time we see His goodness and righteousness, and willingly rely wholly upon His merits.

Ask yourself this question: Is my faith so little that I cling to the deeds that I do, calling them good, because I am afraid to see the evil in myself? Yet it is only through seeing the evil in us that we can exercise the faith to see the good in Him.

And exactly how do we know to see the good in Him? By what our Father in Heaven has revealed to us about Him and about ourselves. And how do we get this revelation? Through His words that he has spoken and caused to be recorded.

"I would that you should take upon you the name of Christ and retain His name always written in your hearts, and that you hear and know the voice by which you are called, and also, the name by which He shall call you." For "how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart."

The Lord Hastens His Work

The phrase "hastening the work" has a specific scriptural reference found in D&C 88:73 wherein the Lord says, "Behold, I will hasten my work in its time." A similar reference is found in Isaiah 60:22 where the Lord says, "I the Lord will hasten it in its time." (See also 2 Nephi 15:19 [Isaiah 5]).  

The phrase was repeated 'mantra style' by many members of the church for awhile, but is not mentioned much anymore. Mantra style means repeating a phrase without regard to its accuracy or meaning, which, in this case, means there is/was no reference to 1) what the Lord's work is or 2) what our role is in preparing for the Lord's hastening of His work. His work as He refers to it here is His great and marvelous work.

Just as vague ideas exist about the so-called “gathering” or “gathering of Israel,” the same applies to the idea of “hastening the work.” But do we really understand what the Lord has revealed concerning the gathering of Israel and the Lord's Great and Marvelous Work? Has the meaning of 'the gathering of Israel' and 'the Lord will hasten his work' been revealed to you? Both are an integral part of the same end-time scenario, and neither has yet occurred according to their scriptural definitions. 

Our misunderstanding their prophetic context, however, may risk turning our zealous labors (zeal without knowledge) into wild fruits. It is critical that we know and teach these events accurately, and understand our role in them. Since the organized church is not and has not been teaching these events correctly, is God telling us to go and figure things out on our own?

 

First, the scriptures define “Israel” as the house of Israel, which today consists of Israel’s natural lineages—the Jews, Ten Tribes, and Lamanites or Lehi's descendants. Israel’s assimilated lineages—identified as “the fulness of the Gentiles”—consist of Ephraimite Gentiles a few of whom will serve as spiritual kings and queens in gathering remnants of the house of Israel in a new exodus to Zion in God’s worldwide Day of Judgment. Word links in the scriptures identify this end-time restoration of the house of Israel as the Lord’s great and marvelous work that will be hastened.

 

In other words, up to this point it is largely Ephraim that has been gathering so that, when that time arrives, its spiritual kings and queens can assist in performing the work of gathering the house of Israel. As the context of this gathering is God’s Day of Judgment, however, these events don’t transpire until the Ephraimite Gentiles as a whole apostatize. The scriptures make abundantly clear that it is the falling away of God’s end-time people—those who today claim to be under the covenant—that precipitates God’s Day of Judgment upon the world.

 

Isaiah and other Hebrew prophets such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel further predict that God does not gather the house of Israel until his people’s shepherds begin to fail in their roles and mistreat the sheep. These actions, too, form a part of the great end-time apostasy that occasions God’s Day of Judgment. He who gathers the sheep is God’s end-time servant David. With the help of God’s servants, the spiritual kings and queens of the Gentiles, he brings about the house of Israel’s restoration that constitutes God’s great and marvelous work.

 

It is the Ephraimite Gentiles’ rejection of the fulness of the gospel after they have received it that in the end causes it to turn back to the house of Israel. Indeed, this very turn of events heralds the coming of the Lord to his ancient covenant people the Jews, Ten Tribes, and Lamanites as he remembers his covenants with their ancestors and takes steps to fulfil them. His hastening of the work more fully occurs as translated beings among his servants transcend time constraints and accomplish gathering the house of Israel by supernatural means.

What is our role in the Lord hastening His work? He gives us detailed instructions in D&C 88 as to what we are to do before the Lord hastens His great and marvelous work. It all has to do with our being prepared so our "souls will escape the wrath of God" and be prepared to assist in the Lord's great and marvelous work, i.e. to be found on one hand or the other (1 Nephi 14:7).

We begin in D&C 88:73 wherein the Lord says, "Behold, I will hasten my work in its time." Like all His words it is essential in searching and hearing them that we know His definitions of the words he uses, in this case "my work." You be the judge whether we are doing as the Lord tells us.

"And I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean" (vs 74).

In other words repent, turn to Him and rely wholly upon His merits, so that He can make us clean.

"That I may testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation; that I may fulfil this promise, this great and last promise, which I have made unto you, when I will" (vs 75).

As we become His, we become our Father's. It is through His goodness, His righteousness and His merits that we are saved.

"Also, I give unto you a commandment that ye shall continue in prayer and fasting from this time forth" (vs 76).

Validate your repentance by enduring in Faith in Him.

"And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom" (vs 77).

His doctrine as He teaches in 3 Nephi 11.

"Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand" (vs 78).

So critical is our preparation, but treated so lightly by us. Note phrase "more perfectly" and yet we do nothing to seek out those with the gift of knowledge of the word of God to teach us.

"Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms" (vs 79).

Not just doctrine, but everything including prophecy, which of course requires that we seek out those with the gift of prophecy.

"That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you" (vs 80).

Prepared in ALL things before being sent to magnify (teach word of God [Jacob 1:19]).

"Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor" (vs 81).

Of course this requires that we know what to warn of. See blog post entitled "An Awful State of Blindness--Wild Fruit."

"Therefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are upon their own heads" (vs 82).

No excuse when we have it all.

"He that seeketh me early shall find me, and shall not be forsaken" (vs 83).

Don't wait until it is too late so you are not caught unprepared. 

"Therefore, tarry ye, and labor diligently, that you may be perfected in your ministry to go forth among the Gentiles for the last time, as many as the mouth of the Lord shall name, to bind up the law and seal up the testimony, and to prepare the saints for the hour of judgment which is to come" (vs 84).

Are you "perfected in your ministry" that you may go forth for the last time, and then be prepared to "assist" in the gathering of Israel? 

The Truman Show

From owlofthedeseret.com/blog

We've all been living in a sort of Truman Show, haven't we?

For those of you who haven't seen the movie, ​here's a recap (SPOILER ALERT):

At birth, Truman is legally adopted by a major television network to be the unknowing star of a television series, in which his entire life is watched by an audience of millions through an intricate series of hidden cameras.

Everyone participating in this created world is an actor except for Truman himself. Truman is the only “authentic” person in this constructed world; even his mother, father, and wife are paid actors/actresses.

Throughout his entire life, the television network is on a continual mission to keep Truman in ignorance of his situation through the manipulation of his environment.

The film follows Truman’s eventual realization of the true nature of his reality and his dramatic escape from the artificial world.

(http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/1/truman.htm)

Fake News

Years ago I stumbled across something that flipped my paradigm. It was life-altering (kind of like when Truman realized he was living in a Studio Set rather than the real world).

You see, during my youth and my missionary years, I had been told that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was going to build Zion. 

. . . I had been taught that the Church was the "stone cut out of the mountain" and that "no unhallowed hand" could stop the work from progressing.  

. . . People said we'd follow the Prophet's call when it was time to return to Jackson County.  

. . . I understood that the early saints had missed their chance to see the New Jerusalem, but maybe this generation of members would succeed where our ancestors had not. 

Well, guess what?  

Not the Main Show?

So, you're probably wondering what I learned that changed my outlook so dramatically.

I was reading in 3 Nephi and . . . well, I'll let the Savior speak for Himself:

​   But if they [the Gentiles] will repent

  and hearken unto my words,

  and harden not their hearts,

  I will establish my church

  among them, and they shall come

  in unto the covenant

  and be numbered among this

  the remnant of Jacob,

  unto whom I have given this land

  for their inheritance;

  And they [the Gentiles]

  shall assist my people,

  the remnant of Jacob,

  and also as many of the house of Israel

  as shall come, that they may build

  a city, which shall be called

  the New Jerusalem.

  And then shall they assist my people

  that they may be gathered in,

  who are scattered

  upon all the face of the land,

  in unto the New Jerusalem.

(3 Nephi 21:22-24)

Did we catch that?!

  

  Q No. 1:  Who does the Lord call "my people?"

  A:  The remnant of Jacob (not the Latter-day Saints).

  Q No. 2:  Are the Latter-day Saint Gentiles in charge of building the New Jerusalem?

  A:  No, the Lord promised that the New Jerusalem will be built by the remnant of Jacob.

  Q No. 3:  So what is the role of the Latter-day Gentiles in the building of Zion?

  A:  Our role is to "assist" the remnant of Jacob.   

  Q No. 4:  Will all Latter-day Gentiles be able to assist?

  A:  No, only those who have:

  

     1.  Hearkened to the voice of the Lord; and

     2.  Not hardened their hearts; and

     3.  Been numbered among the remnant of Jacob

What Does This All Mean?

​   1.  We're not the main show.  We're the opening act.  We're playing on stage warming up the crowd.  That's right ― the crowd that came to see the headlining band play (which is not going to be us!).

2.  It was never the job of the Church to build Zion (which explains a lot, since we haven't been able to).

  3.  The mission of the Church was to bring the gospel to the "remnant of Jacob" (i.e., Lamanites).  They're the ones who will build the New Jerusalem.

  4.  Everything that has occurred since 1820 in the Restoration has been prelude to the main event.  We're the stage hands.

  5.  The Latter-day Gentiles, for all of our money, status, and keys, will not be in charge.  The irony!  If we're "numbered among the remnant of Jacob" we'll get to "assist." 

(So we better humble ourselves because we're going to be second string, the junior varsity, the water boys, the assistants to the president.)

And I would ask: how are we doing? Not very well since we don't even understand our role even though Joseph Smith did. And why? "...for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be" (2 Nephi 32:7). So not only will most of us be unprepared to "assist" His people, our children and grandchildren will also be unprepared because we don't (perhaps can't is a better word) teach them!

Gratefully there are those like Tim Merrill who love enough to teach us.

​

Is it a Good Seed?

If you have some seeds and you want to plant them, and you have had them for awhile, how do you know if the seeds are good? 

The Internet provides some methods or tests to help you determine whether your seeds are good. One is the water test. Take your seeds and put them in a container of water. Let them sit for about 15 minutes. Then if the seeds sink, they are still viable. If they float, they likely will not sprout. According to the source, this is not the most reliable because you cannot see the seed germinate.

The more reliable test is the germination test. Take some of your seeds, preferably 10, and place them in a row on top of a damp paper towel. Fold over the paper towel and place in a zip-up plastic bag and seal it. This helps to keep the towel moist and protected. Then put it in a warm location, like a high shelf or on top of the refrigerator, and check the seeds often--once a day--to see if they have started to germinate and/or to check the moisture of the paper towel. If it needs more water, carefully mist the towel to where it is damp, but be careful not to apply too much water. Make sure the location you have chosen is away from exposure to direct sunlight. This can overheat your seeds.  

Your seeds should begin to germinate in several days or up to a couple of weeks, depending on the seed-type. A good rule of thumb is to wait roughly 10 days; however, if you want to give your seeds the best chance, research the germination time of your specific seeds. Once the allotted time has passed, check to see how many have germinated. If you placed 10 seeds on the paper towel, this will be pretty easy to calculate. If less than 5 seeds sprouted, your packet may not have much success when it comes to planting. If more than 5 sprouted, then your seeds still have a lot of vigor left in them.

I use these methods of testing 

the viability of a seed as an introduction to the most important experiment you will ever consider. It will change what you see and your life. 

It is a test to prove the viability of the word of God, by comparing it to a seed and planting it in your heart to see if it will germinate. As with both the water test and the germination test, there are some important instructions, which you need to follow. It does not matter that you may not believe in God.

Many people say they do not believe in God. But belief has no bearing on whether there is or is not a God. The question is not whether we believe or do not believe. 

The question is:  Is there a God? 

Not, do you believe or do you not believe there is a God? Don't make the mistake of thinking that something is not true just because you don't believe it. 

I cannot prove either the existence or non-existence of a God. But if there really is a God, God can certainly prove His own existence and much more about himself. How? By communicating with man. In other words if God spoke to men or sent messengers to speak for Him, then His words can prove His existence.

There is a story that will help to lay the foundation for this experiment. A man named Alma was speaking to some people upon a hill named Onidah when there came a great multitude unto him. A spokesperson for this multitude told Alma that because of their poverty, they were despised, especially by the leaders of the church to which they belonged. He told Alma that they had been cast out of their churches which they had labored to build, and that they had been cast out because they were poor.  

The spokesperson asked, what should we do?--for we are cast out of our synagogues and we cannot worship our God. Alma said that because they had asked him what they should do, he taught them concerning faith--that it was not a perfect knowledge.  

He said that it is the same with the words he would speak to them.

They cannot know at first, if the words he would speak to them were true. He told these people that God had imparted his word by angels unto men and women also, and that the words were written and preserved for the benefit of all who would receive them, and any who desired could know for themselves.

Since these people desired to know what to do, Alma knew that the word of God would tell them what to do, so he gave them an experiment they could use to test whether the words of God were true. Alma told them that 

(1) they needed to awake and arouse their faculties--in other words, wake up or open their minds, their eyes, their ears and their feelings. 

Once they had done so, they could then begin the experiment.

(2) He told them they needed to exercise a particle of faith which, he explained, was just a desire to believe, and then 

(3) He told them to let that desire work in them, so that they could hear just a few of his words. 

(4) He next told them to compare the word to a seed, 

(5) He told them to then allow the seed (word) to be planted in your hearts, which means to make it a priority among the desires of your heart, and finally 

(6) He told them to not cast it out because of your unbelief. 

If they followed these instructions they would know whether or not the seed was good. 

If the seed is good:

(7) the seed or the word of God would begin to swell within their breasts, and 

(8) they would feel these swelling or growing motions. He then told them further that if the seed was good 

(9) it would begin to enlarge their souls (become more aware),

(10) it would begin to enlighten their understanding, and 

(11) it would begin to be delicious to them.

While this experiment, he told them, would increase their faith, it would still not yet be a perfect knowledge. 

However, because the seed germinated and sprouted and began to grow, they would have a perfect knowledge that the seed was a good seed.

He then explained to them that they could then be sure that the seed was good because it would begin to germinate. If the seed was not good it would not grow within them and they could cast it out. 

When they knew that the seed was good, they would then know that their knowledge was perfect concerning the seed being a good seed. He said to them that they would know that the word had swelled their souls, that the word had sprouted, their understanding enlightened, and their minds expanded.

He then asked them "is not this real?" 

Yes, he says, because the word is light, and light is good because it can be discerned, and they can know that it is good. Just walk into a dark room and turn on the light to see how light is discerned. 

But because they had only exercised their faith to plant the seed in order to try the experiment to know if the seed was good, their knowledge was only perfect in that they knew that the word they planted was good. 

He further explained to them that if they nourished the word or continued to receive more of His words, a tree would begin to grow. He told them that when that happens they should nourish it with great care that it may get root and bring forth fruit unto them. He promised them that if they nourished it with great care, it would get root and bring forth fruit. 

If they neglected the tree, however, and took no thought for its nourishment, it would not get any root, and when the heat of the sun came and scorched it, because it had no root, it would wither and die. This was not because the seed was not good, neither was it because the fruit would not be desirable, but because their ground was barren. 

He explained that the tree is the word of God growing within them and by nourishing the word (which was a seed) and by feasting upon His words, His words would take root in them. He described to them that the fruit was most precious, white above all that is white and pure above all that is pure, and that if they feasted upon this fruit they would never hunger or thirst because it is the fruit of the tree of life.

Because this experiment is personal to those who try it, the fact that others have tried it and know that the seed is good, is not sufficient for someone who has not yet tried it. Even if thousands tell you that this experiment works and that the seed is good, and I am one who can tell you that I have tried the experiment and it does work, it is still not enough for you. 

You must try for yourself to know if the seed is good. You do not have to rely on what others say or what others believe, or what others may say you must believe. You can know for yourself. You do not have to believe anything that is not true! God is confirming His existence to you!

Let's try the experiment using these words spoken by God to Adam. These words are recorded in the Book of Moses. God, by His own voice, spoke to Adam and said: 

"I am God; I made the world" (Moses 6:51). 

Here are the instructions for conducting the experiment. Remember that this experiment is as scientific as any experiment can be, and as with any experiment, you must follow the instructions.

(1) arouse and awake your faculties--open your mind, your heart, your ears, your eyes, your feelings;

(2) exercise just a particle of faith which is just a desire to believe;

(3) let this desire work in you, so you can hear the words;

(4) Compare the words "I am God; I made the world" to a seed;

(5) Allow these words to be planted in your heart or make room in your heart for them; and

(6) Don't cast them out because you don't want to believe them.

Now wait for these results to see if the seed is a good seed and germinates:

(1) the seed or the words "I am God; I made the world" will begin to swell within your breast;

(2) you will feel these swelling or growing motions;

(3) these words will begin to enlarge your being and increase your awareness of this earth and the cosmos;

(4) these words will begin to enlighten your understanding; 

(5) these words will begin to be delicious to you.

(6) you will now know for yourself that these words are true, and that there is a God and that He made the world.

Now try the same experiment with these words recorded in a revelation given to Joseph Smith:

"The word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ" (D&C 84:45).

The more of His words you receive the more you will desire to know--your tree is starting to take root.

Does it appeal to you that you do not have to depend on others for this knowledge? 

Now you have some truth--He is God, and He made the world. And you know that His words are truth and light. The more of His words you receive, the more truth and light you will have. 

You can use the truth (His words) as the standard by which to compare everything you hear and read. Men's words become important so that we learn the difference between what men have written and what God has revealed, but you will begin to recognize when others communicate His words.

You now have a choice whether to try this experiment, and you will fall into one of these four (4) categories:

(1) You choose to ignore or dismiss this experiment for a variety of reasons, one of which is that you don't want to know. You think it is foolish and no matter how many of His words you hear, you will ignore them because your heart is not receptive, because it is so 'set' on things and activities of the world; 

(2) If you do try, you may hear the word and receive it, but others may ridicule you, and the seed will die because your soil is hard and the word/seed cannot take root; or

(3) you hear the word, but because of the cares of the world, the word will be choked and die. Imagine weeds choking the seed. 

Regardless of which these first three (3) categories you find yourself in, the problem will not be because the seed is not good.

(4) But if you follow the instructions and complete the experiment by planting the seed in your heart--and it begins to grow! You know that the seed is good! 

Now you will want to nourish it by receiving more of His words. You will come to know that the fruit of the tree is desirable, and that all the important questions will be answered.

My desire is that you plant this word in your hearts, and as it begins to swell even so nourish it by your faith by receiving more of His words. And if you do, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. What is the best book to start with?

Get your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon here and begin to search for more of the word of God.